Ampoule for cleigising hypodermic



Jan. 24, 1956 EMRlCH AMPOULE FOR CLEANING HYPODERMIC NEEDLES Filed Sept. 14, 1954 United States Patent@ 2,.',731l64j AMPOULEFORCLEANINGHYPODERMIC Nnnnnns My invention relates to a device'- for' cleaning hypoder; mic needles and*moreparticularly-tof an, ampoule which may'beused to clean thef'hypodermic, needlein' a syringe of the ampoule receiving type;

The ordinary ampoule receiving syringe is` designed,

to carry inthe band or bodythereofa cartiidge or ampoule of anesthetic orother medicinalsolution' whichis to be expelled through a hypodermic A needle and thereby administered to the patient. Thev cleaningvof the hypodermic needle used with this typeA of'syringe andthe removal of foreign matter therefrom, has heretofore been atime consuming operation usually'. requiring the, re:- moval and washing of the needle. Since ampoule re;- ceiving syringes have no closed walls and are not sealed they cannot themselves be adapted for soaking up the cleaning liquid after the medicament has been expelled. Moreover, the ampoule which originally holds the medicament cannot be used to draw in the cleaning or rinsing liquid. The reason for this is that there is no method provided for withdrawing the rubber plunger which has been pressed into the inside of the ampoule in the process of expelling the medicament.

l propose to overcome these and other problems of the prior art by providing an ampoule type device for cleaning the hypodermic needle which may be readily inserted into the band or body of an ampoule receiving syringe and easily substituted for the ampoule contain ing the medicament. My cleaning ampoule includes a compression device and a slidable rubber plunger which allows the solution being used to clean or rinse the hypodermic needle to be readily drawn into and expelled from the ampoule.

Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide a device for rinsing and cleaning a llypodermic needle used in connection with ampoule receiving syringes.

it is a further object of my invention to provide an ampoule for cleaning a hypodermic needle which can be inserted into an ampoule receiving syringe, as a substitute for the ampoule containing the medicament.

It is another object of my invention to provide an ampoule which can be readily inserted in an ampoule receiving syringe and which contains a compression device and movable plunger which coact to facilitate the cleansing of a hypodermic needle after use.

These and other objects of my invention will be apparent when taken in connection with the following description of the drawings in which:

Figure l illustrates my novel ampoule type cleaning device.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of a syringe having my novel ampoule inserted therein and with the plunger in the up position.

Figure 3 illustrates another embodiment of my ampoule type cleaning device shown in Figure 1 and more specifically another design for the end of the ampoule through which the needle is inserted.

Essentially my invention comprises a cylindrical amn 2,731,964 Patented Jan. 24, 1956Y poule designed to tit in cartridgelike fashionl intov the body or band ofanf ampoule receivingzsyn'nge. Theampoule carries a compression. device, such as a.. spring,`

attached atone end't'o a slid'ablenubber plungenaud at the other end' to a fixed" rubber stopper. The chamber defined by the space between the rubber elements may be expanded through the action of the spring.: to draw in cleaning or rinsing Huid or compressed to expel the,

uid, by applying, external;`v pressure to the plunger.

Referring to the drawings in more detail",Y my novel.

cleaning or rinsingI ampoule 1 contains a4 compression spring 6 betweemthe` plunger Zanldnhe stopper 3f. ltl can be seen from Figure 2 that afterv plunger rod 7 ofthe.

cylinder ampoulel syringe- 8' is pressedA downwardthe spring' 6 isv compresser?y and tightenedl When pressure is nov longer appliedto the` plunger the spring will, tend to expand.' to its normal position and expeltheplunger. from the ampoule.

In usingmy deviceafter a hypoderrnicr injection has been administered to, the patient,l the ampoule` containf ingA the medicament is removed from the, syringeA and inserted in. itsplace is the, rinsingl ampouleA 11. The, air

is expelled from. this. ampoule by pressing on` plunger rod- 7" of' syringe 8 while the needle is'.4 dipped in, the rinsing o1' antiseptic cleaning solution. i of. the air has been pressed o ut, the` liquid is drawn into the ampoule through theghypodermic, needle!! by releasing the pressure on the plunger rod'.. This permits the compression spring Gi't'o force the plunger away from the stopper, thereby pulling the antiseptic solution into expanding chamber 11. After the plunger reaches the position shown in Figure 2, it is then pressed inward and the solution is pressed out through the needle thereby cleaning and sterilizing the needle and at the same time removing any foreign matter therefrom. The procedure may be repeated as often as desired.

In order that the pressure of the spring or other compression device is evenly distributed to the plunger 2 and the lid stopper 3 and in order to avoid damaging these parts, it is desirable to insert between the plunger and lid stopper and either end of the spring, metallic platelets 4 and 5. The lower platelet 5 inserted next to the stopper 3 must have an opening so that the back end oi the hypodermic needle may reach inside the ampoule.

Another modification of my invention is shown in Figure 3 which shows how the lid stopper may be strengthened by providing a neck 12 at the end of the ampoule into which the needle is to be inserted. The ampoule then carries an external metallic plate 14 which provides an annular covering for the rubber member 13 thereby adding strength to the device as the needle is pulled in and out of member 13 and stopper 3.

The cylindrical surface of the ampoule is preferably made of glass to allow for easy visual inspection and may be manufactured in any desired size so as to correspond to ampoules which are normally used to dispense medicaments. The glass cylinder is tapered inwardly at 16 so as to hold the stopper 3 firmly in place when the plunger is pushed downward against the spring. In order to prevent the stopper from moving upwardly into the ampoule, it is provided with a ridge 18. The rubber plunger 2 is also provided with ridges in order to make it readily slidable. The depressions between the ridges also serve to entrap any liquid which might otherwise escape through the plunger. Thus, it can be seen that the rubber plunger 2 and stopper 3 provide an eliective seal for the ampoule.

The compression member 6 is preferably made of a spring steel which will be durable and which will withstand numerous cycles of compression and expansion without losing its elasticity. The syringe 8 which holds After it is clear thatall,

3 i my cleaning ampoule is conventional and the details of construction need not be recited herein.

In he foregoing, I have described my invention only in connection with preferred embodiments thereof. Many variations and modifications of the principles of my invention within the scope of the description herein are obvious. Accordingly, I prefer to be bound not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appending claims.

l claim:

1. A cylindrical ampoule which comprises a slidable rubber plunger at one end, a rubber stopper at the other end, and compression means for separating the plunger and the stopper.

2. An ampoule for the cleaning of hypodermic needles which comprises a cylindrical glass shell sealed at one end thereof with a rubber stopper, sealed at the opposite end thereof with a rubber plunger, said stopper being rigidly mounted and said plunger being slidably mounted, and compression means adapted so as to hold the slidable rubber plunger in a normally spaced apart relationship from the rubber stopper.

3. An ampoule for the cleaning of a hypodermic needle comprising a cylindrical glass shell sealed at one end with a fixed rubber stopper and at the other end with a slidable rubber plunger, said stopper and said plunger being interconnected with a spring biased so as to keep the said stopper and plunger in a normally spaced-apart relationship.

4. An ampoule for the cleaning of a hypodermic needle which comprises a cylindrical gla'ss shell having a seal at both ends thereof, one seal comprising a slidable rubber plunger, the other seal comprising a fixed rubber stopper, a spring for keeping the said plunger and said stopper in a normally spaced apart relationship, and protective metallic platelets located on the surface of the said rubber members which is contiguous to the said spring. Y

5. An ampoule type device for the cleaning of a hypodermic needle which comprises a cylindrical glass shell, and mounted therein a slidable plunger at one end thereof, a xed rubber stopper at the other end, spring means for maintaining said plunger and said'stopper in a spaced apart relationship, said stopper being adjacent to a neck which terminates in a head carrying another rubber stopper and an annular metallic member for protecting said other rubber stopper.

6. A device for cleaning a hypodermic needle which comprises a cylindrical glass ampoule, a rubber plunger sealing said ampoule at one end and a rubber stopper sealing the said ampoule at the other end, said rubber plunger being slidably mounted in said ampoule and spring means for maintaining the said rubber plunger and said rubber stopper in a spaced apart relationship, means for sliding said rubber plunger and means for allowing the insertion of a needle through the said rubber stopper and into the ampoule.

Buercklin Aug. 8, 1939 Raiche Jan. ll, i955 

